Let’s face it. Dark circles, puffiness, fine lines and wrinkles around the eyes drives us all crazy. What’s even more maddening is all the eye creams that claim they get rid of these things that can cost well over $100. The truth of the matter is nothing topical can erase dark circles. Period. Puffiness may be alleviated by some topicals, but I wouldn’t spend big money when you can do it for free. And fine lines and wrinkles can be addressed with your hydrating face cream or other inexpensive options I will point out.
The eye area is probably the number one thing asked about at my skin care practice so I developed a treatment for it using gentle stimulation technology and simple products. Yes, you can come in and get my pro treatment, but there are also things you can do at home in a pinch to save time and money.
I picked up a product industry secret when working with a chemist years ago that was ready to retire and had worked for a multitude of manufacturers over a span of 35 years. Don’t tell anyone, but eye creams at the base are the same as your face creams with less water to make them thicker so they can put them in a .5oz tube to be sold to you at 5x the cost. Oh, they will have some actives splashed on the label so they can make the claim of erasing things, but all they do is over promise and under deliver. They really do no more that what you already have in your medicine cabinet.
The fallacies of the product industry are far and wide in order to keep the multi billion dollar industry strong for just eye creams alone. Why sell anyone one product when you can sell them multiple at high dollar based on false promises? And BTW, most expensive manufactures come out of the same production plant as the stuff you get in the drug store with a lot of the same subpar ingredients. They are placed in a fancier jar with tons of marketing and a movie star selling them to you. That’s what you are paying for. Word of advice if you really want to improve your skin: Don’t fall pray to high end department store sales girls working on commission. Listen to a skin professional that bases their product resourcing on small manufactures using premium actives that only sell to professionals. Mass marketed, mass distributed and mass manufactured products are a waste of your money and loaded with bad ingredients.
This is the advice I give to all my clients asking what they can do at home.
DARK CIRCLES
If dark circles are your problem please know that there are many reasons why you have them. Hereditary, diet, lifestyle, stress, stagnant circulation, bad sinuses, too much caffeine, smoking, etc. I have found that consistent stimulation is really the only relief.
Do not use cold packs for dark circles. This only thickens and stagnates the blood and lymph already stuck in this area. Use a warm compress for a minute or two to thin the fluids around the eye.
Use a gel or cream so you don’t pull the skin and with a light touch, massage from inner eye to temple, down in front of the ear and continue down side of neck. This is your lymphatic drainage route. Done daily you will increase the metabolism and circulation in the area to move our the stagnant blood that’s literally sitting under your eye like a bruise. If you have puffiness as well you can then follow with a cool compress.
THE SPOON TRICK! Soak 2 tea spoons in a warm glass of water to massage with the back of the spoon the same as above. Use just the weight of the spoon as pressure guide. Warm the spoon for every swipe and repeat 5-10 times.
PUFFINESS
If you’ve had a good long cry I’m afraid only time will be your friend. Cool compresses or soaked chamomile tea bags and staying upright will help, but puffiness caused by tears is a tough one. However, if you are just trying to alleviate puffiness before a big event or getting up puffy in the morning, it’s the same as above just using cool compresses and/or cold spoons dipped in ice water. If you have both dark circles and puffiness always warm treatment first, cool after.
DRYNESS/FINE LINES AND WRINKLES
Dehydration of the delicate skin around the eyes can cause or worsen the appearance of lines for sure. Avoid fad eye creams loaded with caffeine. Caffeine dehydrates the area pulling the skin to convince you it gives immediate results but over time is horrible for the skin around your eyes.
If you are using a great anti aging face cream or peptide serum that’s hopefully free of acids, go ahead and use around your eyes. Hydrating the eye area is your best defense against rapid signs of aging. I have several professional products I can advise on that I trust. That will be another blog, but my favorite very inexpensive trick is pure vegetable glycerine. Pure Vegetable Glycerine you can find at Whole Foods and is an outstanding moisturizer and humectant that also provides softening and hydrating benefits. The tiniest dab will do and is best to wear while sleeping. It’s also amazing slip for massage and spoon tricks above.
If you need a huge power boost to treat your eyes, please come in to try my “The Eyes Have It” facial. Nothing beats the technology I have incorporated over the years to improve this area.
Recent Comments